Oasis
by TomTom34
Summary: Brian a 13 year old boy has to go to Yemen a desert wasteland below Saudi Arabia. He must go to see his father. This story is a little bit like Hatchet by: Gary paulsen but with twists and turns that make him survive in desert not canadian wilderness.


?xml version"1.0" encoding"UTF-8"? !DOCTYPE abiword PUBLIC "-//ABISOURCE//DTD AWML 1.0 Strict//EN" " abiword template"false" styles"unlocked" xmlns:fo" xmlns:math" xid-max"32" fileformat"1.0" xmlns:svg" xmlns:awml" xmlns" xmlns:xlink" version"0.99.2" xml:space"preserve" props"dom-dir:ltr; document-footnote-restart-section:0; document-endnote-type:numeric; document-endnote-place-enddoc:1; document-endnote-initial:1; lang:en-US; document-endnote-restart-section:0; document-footnote-restart-page:0; document-footnote-type:numeric; document-footnote-initial:1; document-endnote-place-endsection:0" !-- -- !-- This file is an AbiWord document. -- !-- AbiWord is a free, Open Source word processor. -- !-- More information about AbiWord is available at -- !-- You should not edit this file by hand. -- !-- -- metadata m key"dc.format" application/x-abiword /m m key"abiword.generator" AbiWord /m /metadata history version"1" edit-time"72" last-saved"1177080378" uid"bab713b0-ef4d-11db-8570-ff378d0aef7a" version id"1" started"1177080378" uid"e6150e4a-ef4d-11db-8570-ff378d0aef7a" auto"0" top-xid"32"/ /history styles s type"P" name"Normal" followedby"Current Settings" props"font-family:Times New Roman; margin-top:0pt; color:000000; margin-left:0pt; text-position:normal; widows:2; font-style:normal; text-indent:0in; font-variant:normal; margin-right:0pt; lang:en-US; line-height:1.0; font-size:12pt; text-decoration:none; margin-bottom:0pt; font-weight:normal; bgcolor:transparent; text-align:left; font-stretch:normal"/ /styles pagesize pagetype"Letter" orientation"portrait" width"8.500000" height"11.000000" units"in" page-scale"1.000000"/ section xid"31" props"page-margin-footer:0.5in; page-margin-header:0.5in" p style"Normal" xid"32" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Oasis /c /p p style"Normal" xid"1" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" By Tom Russell /c /p p style"Normal" xid"2" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" /p p style"Normal" xid"3" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Brian knows that he had to go see his dad even if everything in his body said no, don /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" ' /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" t do it, STOP. He couldn /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" ' /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" t help it. It was all because of the stupid secret that his dad just had to find out. /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" " /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Why did I look? /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" " /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Brian mumbled on his way to the airport. His dad now lived in Yemen in the desert where he could mine oil and gas for 6 rials a day. /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" " /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Guess what. In Yemen there are beaches and warm sand. Your father could probably take you there, /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" " /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" his mother stated trying to cheer him up. The only thing his mom did not know was that he hated hot weather and sand. Especially the water, he hated salt water. /c /p p style"Normal" xid"4" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" When they arrived at the airport in New York, his mom hugged and kissed him and said her final goodbyes in the pouring rain. /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" " /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Wait! /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" " /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" she yelled. His mom then reached back into the car and took out a crumbled up and now soaking wet brown paper bag and gave it to him. He opened it and was surprised to find a hatchet. It was his first weapon. His mom wouldn /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" ' /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" t even let him get the new b-b gun that all of his friends have. She must really know how much I am going to hate Yemen. I guess she thought it might come in handy in a strange country. What did she know anyway? /c /p p style"Normal" xid"5" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Brian got on the plane and it started off like a gun shot. Before he knew it, the pilot was flying over open water. As far /c /p p style"Normal" xid"6" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" as they could see in any direction, there was nothing but water. He liked that he could see the pilot from his seat. He thought that he was nice enough and luckily spoke Arabic, so when we finally got there, at least he would have a translator. But then, something went terribly wrong. He heard the flight attendant over the PA system explain that they may be experiencing low cabin pressure and that the oxygen masks would come down if they needed them. It went all downhill from there. The next thing Brian knew they were crashing into the South Yemen Desert. He wondered how the desert could be so big if the entire country is like twice the size of Wyoming. /c /p p style"Normal" xid"7" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" When he woke up, he realized that the plane had crashed and everyone on board was gone. He was alone in the desert. He put his hands on his hips in frustration as he surveyed the situation and he felt the hatchet still on his belt. That made him think of his mother and thinking of his mother made him think of the secret. That was the reason he was here. The custody agreement that stated he would spend the summer with his dad. He wondered how he would ever find him or be found in the middle of this vast desert wasteland. °∞Water,°± he whispered out loud to no one. He needed water. He knew if he could find a supply of water, he may just be able to survive long enough to be found. It was a battle between man and nature. He wondered how long he could survive and he envisioned the day the army would fly in from somewhere in the Middle East to rescue him. /c /p p style"Normal" xid"8" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Brian was not an expert at wilderness survival, but the little bit he had read in his science book and talked about with his dad taught him that he needed to find an oasis. He only had a limited number of days he could survive without water. That would be where he could set up camp. He needed shelter from the elements and he needed it quick. It was the brink of summer and he could already feel the sun beating down on his back. He took an inventory and the only things he could salvage were his hatchet, a wind breaker and the clothes on his back. He took a guess and headed what he thought was south, toward the coast, thinking he could find something that would help. /c /p p style"Normal" xid"9" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" He was right! Only a few miles in the scorching heat changed everything as he stumbled upon a lush desert oasis. Plants and trees surrounding a fresh water pond, but which ones were okay for humans to eat? As soon as he saw the bright red berries he guessed that they must be edible. He picked a few and tried to get the ripest. He still couldn /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" ' /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" t believe that he was stuck alone no one with him.°∞ I am here because of the secret,°±he screamed, hoping someone would come. He fell asleep thinking about the day he was riding his bike with his best friend, and he saw his mom right in the white station wagon. There was one problem though it wasn /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" ' /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" t his dad in the passenger seat. Some guy in a white tennis shirt was with HIS mom. But that was a worry for another day. /c /p p style"Normal" xid"10" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:LucidaGrande; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Today, Brian needed to concentrate on building a shelter at the oasis. There was no obvious place to live and nothing offered protection from the weather. Brain needed to build a shelter. He smiled as he reached for his hatchet to start chopping branches and small trees. He then knew he had the pieces. He just needed to finish the puzzle. At the end of the day, he stood back to admire his piece of art. It was barely big enough for him to lie down. °∞It iisn'tt pretty, but it might just work,°±he thought. He had four log posts to from corners and the sides were made from smaller twigs and rubbery leaves he had woven together. The roof was an overhang of a palm tree that provided total coverage from the now getting chilly night air. It had taken all day, but Brian was pleased with his work. Pleased and tired. /c /p p style"Normal" xid"11" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" When Brian woke up the next day, his new mission became food. He thought stomach hurt because he was hungry, but when he started puking, he knew it must have been those berries from the day before. °∞Oh great,°±he thought, °∞If I don°Øt find something to eat, I am going to die right here.°± But then, he had a bright idea. There must be fish in that pond. It took most of that third day, but Brian was able to use a branch he had sharpened with that darn hatchet and after what felt like thousands of failed attempts, he had dinner of one raw fish. /c /p p style"Normal" xid"12" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Every noise in the desert made Brain think of two things. On the positive side, he thought it might be a rescue team and on the negative side, he thought it might be something trying to hurt him. The desert night is filled with life that starts when the sun goes down. Brian learned the hard way that he really wasn /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" ' /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" t totally alone in the desert. Scorpions. Brian was sleeping after an exhausting day of work. He settled down right after a fish. After he eventually dosed off. He continuously woke up to the sound of little murmurs of walking. A minute later. °∞ AHHHHHHHHHHH!°±A scorpion about the size of a fish whipped his tail into Brian°Øs body like so fast that he didn /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" ' /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" t even have enough time for reflexes to get his hatchet. /c /p p style"Normal" xid"13" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" Another danger was one Brian found out about unexpectedly when a sand storm hit. It started with a little gust and before long, it evolved into a stinging catastrophic event that felt like a thousand bees were swarming around his body having him for their main meal. /c /p p style"Normal" xid"14" props"margin-top:0.0000in; margin-left:0.0000in; tabstops:0.388889in/L0,0.777778in/L0,1.166667in/L0,1.555556in/L0,1.944444in/L0,2.333333in/L0,2.722222in/L0,3.111111in/L0,3.500000in/L0,3.888889in/L0,4.277778in/L0,4.666667in/L0; dom-dir:ltr; margin-bottom:0.0000in; text-indent:0.0000in; line-height:1.000000; text-align:left; margin-right:0.0000in" c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" One night many days later, Brian thought he heard the now familiar buzz of the desert night. But on this night, it was louder and it was getting louder still. It sounded almost mechanical. He knew it could only be one thing. A rescue plane had finally come to find him! When it landed it seemed like an angel coming down out of the skies for him. Then one person dressed totally in army camouflage from head to toe stepped out and looked directly at him, °∞You /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" ' /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" re the kid they /c c props"font-family:Helvetica; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" ' /c c props"font-family:AppleGothic; font-size:12pt; color:000000; text-decoration:none; text-position:normal; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal" ve been looking for. I can°Øt believe I found you,°±he yelled surprisingly in perfect English. As I trotted back into the helicopter, I looked back for the final glimpse of my Oasis. It was beautiful in a weird way. 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